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<Looks round hopefully for dead cat> |
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I might have just laughed out loud - depends on if you could hear it |
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Both Bun and Bone at the same time |
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//A cat works a whole lot better in the thought
experiment than a walrus.// Paul is both dead and
not-dead. |
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Both rolling and unrolling in his grave. |
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We are all aware that the cat is either alive and dead, and not in a quantum superposition of states, _before_ the box is opened, right? That there is no possibility of quantum coherence between the cat and the radioactive particle, because the cat is too big and warm and so forth? That that was the whole point of the thought experiment - a reductio ad absurdum, to challenge certain interpretations of 'observer' in quantum theory? |
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Just as we use 'custard' as a slightly more amusing term than 'fairly strong mix of raw cornstarch and water', we pretend to ignore the actual point of the cat experiment, for humour, right? It's just that it's not really all that funny. |
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[Edit] Sorry, that comes across more grumpily than intended. Carry on. |
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It was 50% funny, until I read it. |
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// It was 50% funny, until I read it. // |
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And then it was 100% funny? |
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It doesn't matter how funny it was once I read it. The point is that until it is read, it could be funny or not funny. |
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//it could be funny or not funny // |
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Or both at the same time. Like Doug Stanhope. |
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Ahhh ...the gentle sound of wavefunctions collapsing
on the beach... |
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Ah, the sweet Bun/Bone duality
[Bigsleep], Probably.
{It's there until you try to view it } |
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Schrödinger's Bat - belfry reconnaissance
Schrödinger's Hat - see "persistence of hatness"
Schrödinger's Scat- did somebody step in something ?
Schrödinger's Fat - he's a bit sensitive about that one
Schrödinger's Vat - none of this "half full" or "half empty" crap, can I get a refill or not ? |
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How about an eponymous book that contains the idea, but until you open it you don't know if your understanding is right or wrong. |
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//<Looks round hopefully for dead cat>// |
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Can anyone draw a dead cat in ASCII? |
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[edit] - nope. <H><H><H><H><H>
[another edit]
Yes!
................ ............-......
................ ............\.\.....
................ ..............\.\.....
................ ..............|.|.....
................ ..............|.|.....
........../\---/\. .._,---._.|.|.....
........./^...^..\,'. ........`..;.....
........(.O...O...) ............;.....
.........`.=M=__,' ............\.....
.........../..... ..._,--.__....\.....
........../.._.)...,'. .`-..`-....\.....
........./.,'../..,'... ...\..\..\..\.....
.......././../.,'....... ....(,_)(,_).....
.......(,;..(,,)......... ...............
..................... ...................
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[zen_tom], I liked that attempt, while it was still in
existence... |
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// Can anyone draw a dead cat in ASCII? // |
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Schrödingers donger is a magnificent wonger, but its a mystery till you pull the fly, whether it is shorter or longer. |
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<looks at [8th of 7]'s dead cat> |
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Well, I suppose that's that sorted then. |
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The cat in question shows every indication of not only being alive, but in motion. |
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The specification was for a DEAD cat. Do we have to draw a picture ? Oh, wait ... |
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It took me a minute to discern that dead cat, 8th. It was just a jumble of characters in one instance, and I could see glimpses of a dead cat at other times... It was in a strange... juxtaposition? Nooo... I need a better analogy, damnit! |
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//The specification was for a DEAD cat.// |
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Look, I took the liberty of examining [zen_tom]'s cat
and I discovered that the only reason it was in an
upright position in the first place is that it had been
nailed there. |
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^ ^ o \ \ / \ J O
Believe it or not that's all the pieces of a dead cat. |
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................ .....................
................ ......................
........../\---/\. .._,---._..........
........./^...^..\,'. ........`--..;.....
........(.+...+...) ............;\_.....
.........`.=M=__,' ............\. \...
.........../..... ..._,--.__....\I.I...
........../.._.)...,'. .`-..`-....\.I....
........./.,'../..,'... ...\..\..\..\.....
.......././../.,'....... ....(,_)(,_).....
.......(,;..(,,)......... ...............
..................... ................... |
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Kind of, lying on it's side, if you disregard
perspective, and tilt your head to one side. And
squint. Through some sunglasses... While drunk. |
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(Oh, and a cheeky [brevity] tag.) |
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Ah yes. Thankyou, [lep], much more satisfactory. |
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8th's dead cat is the worst (therefore the best) ASCII drawing I have ever seen. I especially like the little nose pointing up toward cat heaven. |
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Better with the eyes as x's. |
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................ .....................
................ ......................
........../\---/\. .._,---._..........
........./.^...^..\,'. ........`--..;.....
........(..x....x..) ............;\_.....
.........`.=M=__,' ............\. \...
.........../..... ..._,--.__....\I.I...
........../.._.)...,'. .`-..`-....\.I....
........./.,'../..,'... ...\..\..\..\.....
.......././../.,'....... ....(,_)(,_).....
.......(,;..(,,)......... ...............
..................... ...................
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"Good Lord - I've heard about this - cat juggling! Stop! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Good. Father, could there be a God that would let this happen?" |
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This was solved by my 7 year old son: If the box moves, the
cat is alive because a cat inside a box, is a very ángry cat! |
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Nice, respect theleopard. |
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Susan's comment on the cat emitting more energy (wiggling the container) than the radioactive thingy is interesting! If the cat were slighty radioactive it could trigger the detector with greater reliability than the experiments isotope source. |
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This has a spurious congruence with what if different people read a hebrew calibrated detector, say Feynman, who doesn't know Hebrew, and Einstein, who might. This might just possibly matter, as the MWI could depend on observer capability of observation. I have tried to come up with designs of computers that are better at being the observer resolving an experiment than a human. (superobserver computers) |
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// If the cat were slighty radioactive // |
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Could you work with 'very radioactive' ? You want irradiation, or isotope contamination ? Any particular range of the Actinides ? |
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// what if different people read a hebrew calibrated detector .... depend on observer capability of observation. // |
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An admirable exposition of the quite remarkable disconnect in your comprehension between Quantum phenonena and macroscopic phenomena. |
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The Copenhagen Interpretation and the Uncertainty Principle apply very specifically at a quantum level; interpolating this to the event of a human observer taking readings from a calibrated instrument would be funny, if it weren't so sad. |
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And here's me thinking it is all about what kind of door is installed in the box. A glass one isn't that fair, is it? |
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Not if it has a convincing image of a cat flap on it, no. |
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[8th of 7] er, I thought there were about 4 versions now, there are many (majority?) actual physicists that think copenhagen is far out. that said, it is true I (obviously) only partially comprehend quantum physics. |
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Doesn't opening the box also have a probability of disturbing the isotope? |
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No. Isotopic decay is unaffected by purely mechanical forces. |
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